Systems and methods for providing mockup business objects

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, are provided for a mockup business object. The mockup business object implemented within a computer framework including other business objects. In one exemplary embodiment, the method may include generating, within the computer framework, the mockup business object based on a metadata stored within the computer framework, when the mockup business object does not exist within the computer framework. The method may also include determining whether a structure of the mockup business object has changed based on the metadata, when the mockup business object does exist within the computer framework. Moreover, the method may include modifying the mockup business object based on the result of the determining step.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to data processing. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods forimplementing mockup business objects.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is, and will continue to be, advances and changes in howenterprises conduct business. Whether these advances and changes occurthrough growing competition and globalization, mergers and acquisition,or a revamping of business models, the key for success will often dependon how quickly the enterprise's information technology (IT) organizationcan adapt to evolving business needs. Therefore, a major challenge tothese enterprises is how they handle change.

For organizations to enable business agility, they must ensure thatenterprise applications are not only high-performance business enginesdriving efficiencies, but also that they become flexible building blocksof future business systems. A recent promising solution has risen in theform of services. A service, such as a Web service or program,represents a self-contained, self-describing piece of applicationfunctionality that can be found and accessed by other applications. Aservice is self-contained because the application using the service doesnot have to depend on anything other than the service itself, andself-describing because all the information on how to use the servicecan be obtained from the service itself. The descriptions are centrallystored and accessible through standard mechanisms.

Instead of requiring programmers to establish and maintain links betweenapplications, services are loosely coupled, making connections simplerand more flexible and allowing application architects to more easilyfind and understand services offered by other cooperative applications.However, the problem that exists with services is that they are oftendesigned to expose functionality of individual applications and thus aretoo limited to be efficient building blocks for enterprise-wide businessprocesses. A solution to this shortfall has been the migration to aService Oriented Architecture (SOA). The SOA is an open architecturemiddleware, which builds on the benefits of services. An example of anSOA can be found in the Enterprise Service Framework (ESF), which iscommercially available from SAP AG, Walldorf, Germany. The term “SOA”may also be used to refer to “distributed objects” architecture, such asCORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) and DCOM (DistributedComponent Object Model).

The SOA enables the abstraction of business objects (BO), modeled asservices (also referred to as enterprise services), from actualapplications. Aggregating services into business-level enterpriseservices may provide more meaningful building blocks for the task ofautomating enterprise-scale business scenarios. Enterprise servicesallow IT organizations to efficiently develop composite applications,defined as applications that compose functionality and information fromexisting systems to support new business processes or scenarios.

The SOA also enables the use of an enterprise services repository. Theenterprise services repository stores relevant pre-existing enterpriseservices and makes them available to selected partners and customers. Byusing the enterprise services repository, these selected partners andcustomers can use the pre-existing enterprise services to aid in theimplementation of new services and corresponding business objects. Theterm business object (BO) represents a physical or logical object ofsignificance to a business, such as a purchase order. An “object” refersto a software bundle of variables (e.g., data) and related methods. Forexample, in object-oriented programming, an object is a concreterealization (instance) of a class that consists of data and theoperations associated with that data.

When services and business objects are developed, the development ofother system components are delayed until the completion of the serviceand the corresponding business objects. For example, a user interfacethat interacts with a service for providing purchase orders would bedelayed until the service for providing the business objects iscompleted. As such, there is a need to improve development of servicesand business objects.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides methods and apparatus, including computerprogram products, for providing mockup business objects.

In one exemplary embodiment, there is provided a method for providing amockup business object, the mockup business object implemented within acomputer framework including other business objects. The method mayinclude generating, within the computer framework, the mockup businessobject based on a metadata stored within the computer framework, whenthe mockup business object does not exist within the computer framework.Moreover, the method may include determining whether a structure of themockup business object has changed based on the metadata, when themockup business object does exist within the computer framework. Themethod may also include modifying the mockup business object based onthe result of the determining step.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the invention, as described. Further featuresand/or variations may be provided in addition to those set forth herein.For example, the present invention may be directed to variouscombinations and subcombinations of the disclosed features and/orcombinations and subcombinations of several further features disclosedbelow in the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, show certain aspects of the presentinvention and, together with the description, help explain some of theprinciples associated with the invention. In the drawings,

FIG. 1A illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary system environmentconsistent with certain aspects related to the present invention;

FIG. 1B illustrates an exemplary schema consistent with certain aspectsrelated to the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates another block diagram of an exemplary system atruntime consistent with certain aspects related to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates another block diagram of an exemplary system used togenerate objects consistent with certain aspects related to the presentinvention; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart with exemplary steps for generatingobjects consistent with certain aspects related to the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the invention, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The implementations setforth in the following description do not represent all implementationsconsistent with the claimed invention. Instead, they are merely someexamples consistent with certain aspects related to the invention.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughoutthe drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an exemplary system 100 environment thatincludes a client system 110 and a server system 190 for generatingbusiness objects. The business objects may serve as mockups that arestored in mockup storage for use at runtime. By providing a persistenceframework for the mockup business objects, the mockup business objectscan be used independently of the actual business objects, such as thebusiness objects implemented when the development of system 100 iscompleted or finalized. As such, the mockup business objects that aregenerated allow development of components of system 100, such as thedevelopment of user interfaces, to proceed independently of, and inparallel to, the implementation of the actual business objects.

Referring to FIG. 1A, client system 110 includes a user interface (UI)120 and a generic client proxy (GCP) 140. Client system 110 connects toserver system 190 through network connection 150 b. Server system 190further includes a service manager (SM) 160, a repository 175, a mockupservice adapter 196, a database 170, and service providers 180-181.System 100 may be implemented as part of an enterprise servicesframework (ESF). An enterprise services framework is a type of computerframework, such as a client-server architectural framework, thatincludes one or more services. The services are accessible to otherparts of the ESF, such as client systems and their corresponding users,through a communication mechanism such as the Internet or an intranet.The ESF may be constructed using tools provided by SAP Netweaver™(commercially available from SAP AG, Walldorf, Germany). Although FIG.1A shows a single client system 110 and a single server system 190, aplurality of client systems and server systems may be used. Moreover,the components depicted in FIG. 1A may be distributed among multiplelocations. Although FIG. 1A is described with respect to a client-serverarchitecture and an ESF, system 100 can also use any other architectureor framework.

Client system 110 may include one or more processors, such as computers,to interface with server system 190. User interface 120 may provide aninterface to allow a user to interact with other applications, such asservice providers 180-181 and their corresponding business objects. Userinterface 120 may include a browser to provide content from serviceproviders 180-182. In some implementations, SAP Web Dynpro (commerciallyavailable from SAP AG, Walldorf, Germany) is used as a model-baseddevelopment environment for generating user interface 120, althoughother development environments can also be used. User interface 120 maycall the API of generic client proxy 140 through network connection 150a to, for example, interact with one of the service providers 180-181.

Generic client proxy 140 may have an API implemented at client 110 thatis accessible to user interface 120. When instantiated, generic clientproxy 140 may provide an interface, such as a Remote Procedure Call(RPC) or SOAP interface, to service manager 160 at server system 190through network connection 150 b. Generic client proxy 140 may beimplemented to control the functionality available to user interface 120by providing a well-defined interface to service manager 160. Forexample, service manager 160 may include a variety of procedures, butgeneric client proxy 140 may be allowed access only to a subset of thoseprocedures. Moreover, generic client proxy 140 may buffer requestsand/or responses between user interface 120 and service manager 160.

Network connections 150 a-150 f may include, alone or in any suitablecombination, a telephony-based network, a local area network (LAN), awide area network (WAN), a dedicated intranet, wireless LAN, theInternet, an intranet, a wireless network, a bus, or any othercommunication mechanisms. Further, any suitable combination of wiredand/or wireless components and systems may provide network connections150 a-150 f. Moreover, network connections 150 a-150 f may be embodiedusing bi-directional, unidirectional, or dedicated communication links.Network connections 150 a-150 f may also implement standard transmissionprotocols, such as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol(TCP/IP), Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), SOAP, RPC, or otherprotocols.

Server system 190 may include one or more processors, such as computers,to interface with other computers, such as client system 190. Genericclient proxy 140 calls the API of service manager 160 at server 190.When the API of service manager 160 is called, an instance of theservice manager 160 is created at server system 190. Although servicemanager is depicted within server 190, service manager 160 can belocated anywhere and distributed among multiple locations.

Moreover, when the API of service manager 160 is called, service manager160 may call a procedure through an API to instantiate one or more ofthe service providers 180-181. When service provider 180 is instantiatedby service manager 160, service provider 180 may also instantiate one ormore corresponding business objects. For example, a user of userinterface 120 may access service provider 180 to interact with a productcatalog. The data and methods associated with providing the productcatalog to user interface 120 correspond to a business object. Abusiness object node refers to a portion of the business object.Returning to the above product catalog example, a business object nodemay refer to another object, such as a price or a product descriptionincluded within the business object. The business object and nodes maybe stored in, for example, database 170 and/or repository 175. As notedabove, during the development of the product catalog service provider,user interface 120 development cannot proceed independently of thedevelopment of the product catalog service provider and itscorresponding business objects. However, the use of mockup businessobjects within the framework of system 100 allows user interface 120 tobe developed independently of the catalog service provider.

Repository 175 may store information associated with the businessobjects (e.g., the product catalog service provider) including metadatafor the business objects. For example, repository 175 may store a listof business object nodes including an identifier (ID) and data content.The ID of a business object refers to an identifying memory address of abusiness object node that uniquely identifies individual business objectnodes within repository 175. The memory address can be used to accessand read data content of a particular business object node. For example,an ID of a business object node may consist of a directory structure andfilename associated with the business object node. Repository 175 may beimplemented as an enterprise services repository, although any othercomputer-readable storage medium may be used.

Repository 175 may also store metadata regarding one or more businessobjects. Metadata may be defined as data about data. For example,metadata may refer to information about the data itself, such ascontent, quality, condition, origin, size, formatting, characteristicsof data, and the like. The eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is aspecific example of metadata because it is a format used to define otherdata objects. Metadata may include a schema. A schema is theorganization or structure, such as the organization of a database or thestructure of an object in an object oriented program. In object orientedprogramming, modeling (i.e., the analysis of objects that are used in abusiness or other context and the identification of the relationshipsamong these data objects) leads to a schema, which can be stored inrepository 175 as a schema. The schema can be depicted visually as astructure or a formal text-oriented description (e.g., script). Forexample, metadata may be in the form of database tables. The metadatamay include information such as the number of nodes in a businessobject, the name(s) of the nodes, the position of a node in the businessobject hierarchy, the structure of a node, associations, actions, anddefault queries on a node.

FIG. 1B depicts an example schema for business object nodes stored atrepository 175. The schema includes a business object node for a salesorder 198 a, sales order items 198 b included with sales order 198 a,and the corresponding product description 198 c. Moreover, the schemadepicted in FIG. 1B may include keys 197 that identify the relationshipsamong the business object nodes 198. For example, key 197 a is a salesorder identification value (“id”) that is used to link business objectnodes 198 a and 198 b. Key 197 b links the product identification values(labeled at FIG. 1B as “product id”) of sales order item 198 b to theproduct identification value (labeled “id”) of product description 198c. The schema, which depicts business object nodes and how they areassociated to one another, may be considered metadata and stored inrepository 175. Moreover, the schema may be considered a “model” of howto implement these business object nodes. The model may serve as atemplate to enable the composition of other models for business objectsand their nodes. The models may also be used to generate script forgenerating code for the business objects and their nodes. The schema maybe stored as metadata in repository 175. During the final implementationof system 100, a user would interact with a service provider (e.g., toreceive a product catalog) to access the business objects stored atrepository 175.

Mockup service adaptor 196 may include an API, which when calledgenerates mockup business objects using metadata. For example, themetadata stored in repository 175 may be used to generate mockupbusiness objects. Specifically, if the schema of FIG. 1B depicts a modelof an actual business object, the model may be used to provide a similarmodel for generation of mockup business objects. Mockup service adaptor196 stores any generated mockup business objects in mockup storage. Atruntime, the mockup business objects are used, such that development ofcomponents of system 100 may occur independently. For example, a userinterface designer can develop user interface 120 to interact with amockup business object without regard to the actual business objectsthat might be used when system 100 is completed. The use of mockupbusiness objects may thus improve system development.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary mockup service adapter 196. Mockup serviceadapter 196 may generate, based on metadata stored in repository 175,mockup business objects. Mockup service adapter 196 may also store themockup business objects in mockup storage 224. Moreover, mockup serviceadapter 196 may instantiate mockup business objects during runtime. Thesteps for generating the mockup business objects are described belowwith respect to FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 2, when called by servicemanager 160, mockup service adaptor 196 calls a mockup engine 205.

Mockup engine 205 may ensure that the proper message is used to make acall to an API, such as calls to service manager 160, mockup storage224, and other components of system 200. Mockup engine 205 may alsoprovide a simple before-image retrieval implementation. A before-imageretrieval implementation stores the state of a database before a changeis made to the database.

Transactional buffer 210 manages transactional buffering, such ascreate, retrieve, update, and delete procedures performed on the mockupbusiness object nodes of mockup storage 224. For example, servicemanager 160 may call various procedures from service providers 180-181to instantiate a mockup business object stored at mockup storage 224 tointeract with and manipulate the mockup business object nodes. Theseprocedures may include instructions to create, retrieve, update, anddelete mockup business object nodes corresponding to service providers180-181. For example, a “create” procedure can be used to create a newmockup business object node, an “update” procedure to update datacontent in one or more mockup business object nodes, a “retrieve”procedure to retrieve mockup business object nodes, and a “delete”procedure to delete one or more mockup business object nodes. Moreover,procedures can be used in combination, such as a “query” procedure and a“retrieve” procedure, to search and retrieve data content from mockupbusiness object nodes. When using the create, retrieve, update, anddelete procedures, transactional buffer 205 may also implementadditional procedures, such as check, save, and clean-up, as well assupport change notifications to change handlers at service manager 160.Although the above description of transactional buffer 210 as performingprocedures, such as create, retrieve, update, and delete, on the mockupbusiness objects, transaction buffer may also perform the procedures anyobjects.

Transactional buffer 210 may also provide the implementation of thedefault queries. A mockup business object node may have associateddefault queries on fields of a business object node. For example, eachmockup business object node may have an associated database table (e.g.,tables corresponding to nodes 198 a-c) that includes fields and adefault SQL query of those fields. Transactional buffer 210 may enablemerging of database data and buffer data. For example, changes to amockup business object node may be stored in a buffer until a save isimplemented to a database. When the save is called, any changes in thebuffer are written to the database, such that the changes are entered inan ordered (or phased) manner. Transactional buffer 210 may also providethe parent-child and child-parent navigation through the mockup businessobject nodes. For example, a mockup business object model stored atmockup storage 224 may include a schema (see, e.g., FIG. 1B) thatdefines a parent node (e.g., node 198 a) and child node (e.g., node 198b). The parent node may be a mockup business object node for generatinga sales order, and one of the child nodes may be an object of the salesorder (e.g., items contained within the order and product descriptionsfor the items). Transactional buffer 210 may thus provide navigationbetween those nodes 198. Although the mockup business object node isdescribed in connection with a sales order business object, other typesof objects may be used.

Database engine and field name mapper 220 may provide access to database170 and provide any necessary mapping functionality between proxy namesand database names. The proxy names of node fields (e.g., “product id”at node 198 b) may represent the ABAP (Advanced Business ApplicationProgramming) name for the node fields in an ABAP dictionary generated atthe time of proxy generation of the mockup business object. Whendatabase tables for the mockup business object nodes are created usingmetadata, it may not practical to create the column names of thedatabase table with exactly the same name as the proxy names. As such,database 170 may use “pseudo” names rather than the actual proxy namesused by the mockup business object nodes. Database engine 220 may alsoinclude an API that limits access to database 170. For example, onlyengine 220 may be aware of the actual pseudo field names used indatabase 170. All other components of system 200 may only know the proxyname, which is mapped by engine 220 to the actual pseudo field name atdatabase 170. Database engine 220 may also provide a default queryprocedure. For example, a mockup business object node may include apredefined query to serve as a default query. As such, the default query(defined by the mockup engine) would be any query defined on the mockupbusiness object node (or its corresponding database table).

The concurrency manager 222 provides lock management. Lock managementrefers to locking a mockup business object to allow accurate access toinformation associated with the mockup business object. For example,while a mockup business object (or its node) is being updated, it may belocked until after the update.

Service Manager 160 instance may include a message handler 160 b forhandling messages to and from service manager 160; a change handler 160c for handling changes affecting service providers 180-181 (e.g.,changes that occur when user interface 120 changes, such as a buttonclick, affect a service provider or the corresponding mockup businessobjects); and a controller 160 a for controlling dynamic properties ofthe instance (e.g., node 198 a may include data fields that aremandatory, read-only, invisible, and the like). Service manager 160 mayalso include a stack for storing changes associated with the changehandler in a last in, first out manner. Although service manager 160 isdepicted in FIG. 2 at mockup engine 205, other service manager instancesmay be included within system 200 including at services 210.

Moreover, when the API of service manager 160 is called by mockupservice adapter 196, service manager 160 may instantiate one or moreservice providers 180-181 and corresponding mockup business objects.

Mockup storage 224 provides storage of mockup business objects and theirbusiness object nodes (see, e.g., FIG. 1B). Mockup storage 224 may alsoinclude metadata. Although mockup storage 224 may be used to store alldata associated with the mockup business objects, the actual dataassociated with a mockup business object node may be stored in anotherlocations, such as database 170. Referring to FIG. 1B, the mockupbusiness object nodes may correspond to nodes 198. In this example, thedata associated with the order date of node 198 a may be stored atdatabase 170. Mockup storage 224 may be implemented as acomputer-readable storage medium (e.g., a disk drive, optical drive, andthe like). Mockup storage 224 is described further below with respect toFIG. 3.

Services 210 represent applications (e.g., service providers, services,web services, and the like) that are available for calling to and frommockup service adaptor 196. For example, the create, update, retrieve,delete procedures described above may be accessible at service 210 as aservice available to the framework of system 200.

FIG. 3 depicts system 200 when generation engine 300 is called by mockupservice adapter 196 to generate mockup business objects. Generationengine 300 then generates a complete schema for the mockup businessobjects that are stored in mockup storage 224. The mockup businessobjects are generated independently of any actual business objects. Forexample, based on the business object metadata stored in mockup storage224, generation engine 300 creates a schema (e.g., the tables depictedin FIG. 1B) for the mockup business object nodes, and stores theresulting mockup business object nodes in mockup storage 224. The tableshave technical names, such as sales_order, sales_order_items, andproduct_description. Database Engine 220 maps these technical names toan appropriate storage mechanism, such as mockup storage 224 or database170. Moreover, engine 220 may resolve any potential conflicts that canoccur when multiple mockup business object nodes use the same technicalname or field name. The association between mockup business objectnodes, database table names, and field names (see, e.g., 198 a at “id”,“order_data,” and “customer_id”) may be stored in mockup storage 224. Inaddition to the mapping information, mockup storage 224 may also includeadministration information (e.g., created-by, created-on, and lastchange), which can be used by the reporting engine 310 to createreports. Moreover, the administration information may also be consideredmetadata for storage at mockup storage 224.

Mockup storage 224 may also store information (including versioninformation) for administration of schemas. The stored information maybe used by generation engine 300 for updating the schemas. Generationengine 300 may also provide an API for deleting the complete databaseschema or parts of the schema (e.g., deleting a node of a mockupbusiness object node). Generation engine 300 may also provide an API foradding to the schema or parts of the schema (e.g., adding a node of amockup business object node).

The reporting engine 310 may generate reports including a loggingreport, a delta report to show changes when compared to a previousreport, and an audit report to show errors or faults. When a schema isgenerated, the logging report is created to show all the steps that werelogged during schema generation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of exemplary steps for generating mockup businessobjects. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, when service manager 160 callsmockup service provider 196, the call may initiate steps 400.

The call to mockup service provider 196 initiates generation engine 300to determine whether a mockup business object exists. For example, ifthe mockup business object requested by the call does not have anycorresponding data stored at mockup storage 224, generation engine 300may determine that the business object does not exist and generate amockup business object based on the metadata stored at mockup storage224 (steps 410-420). For example, generating a mockup business objectmay include generating a mockup persistency, such as generating a modelor a schema for the mockup business object. The mockup business objectmay be generated from metadata. For example, the database schema may bederived from the composition nodes of the business object and the namesof the tables. However, the fields name may not be mapped one to one dueto database management restrictions (e.g., the field names of a tableand the database may have only 16 characters, while, on the other hand,the business object node field names may have 255 characters). Togenerate the mockup business object based on the metadata (step 420),generation engine 300 may generate objects. The generated objects may beimplemented as objects as a data dictionary (DDIC), which are created toprovide mockup functionality (e.g., database tables for the businessobject nodes).

If the mockup business object exists, generation engine 300 may thendetermine whether the structure of the mockup business object node haschanged (step 430). The schema may be considered “changed” when theschema changes in any way, such as the deletion of a field at a mockupbusiness object node or the change of a data type (e.g., a change froman integer data type to a character data type). When there has been achange, generation engine 300 may determine that the structure of themockup business object (or its node(s)) has changed. If the structurehas changed, generation engine 300 may modify the stored mockup businessobject (or its nodes). For example, generation engine 300 may delete anydeleted mockup business object nodes and create generation objects forany added nodes (step 440). If a mockup business object containing nodesA and B has changed to include only nodes B and C, the previouslygenerated objects of node A would be deleted, while newly generatedobjects would be created for node C. When node A is deleted, transactionbuffer 210 may be used to facilitate the deletion. If the structure hasnot changed, generation engine 300 may, for an existing mockup businessobject node, check for metadata changes at mockup storage 224 (step450). To check for changes, the following properties of the old and thenew node structure fields may be compared to identify changes: datatype, length, decimal, and number of fields for a given node. In thecase of a change, mockup storage 224 creates a new version of the mockupbusiness object node.

The systems and methods disclosed herein may be embodied in variousforms including, for example, a data processor, such as a computer thatalso includes a database, digital electronic circuitry, firmware,software, or in combinations of them. Moreover, the above-noted featuresand other aspects and principles of the present invention may beimplemented in various environments. Such environments and relatedapplications may be specially constructed for performing the variousprocesses and operations according to the invention or they may includea general-purpose computer or computing platform selectively activatedor reconfigured by code to provide the necessary functionality. Theprocesses disclosed herein are not inherently related to any particularcomputer, network, architecture, environment, or other apparatus, andmay be implemented by a suitable combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. For example, various general-purpose machines may beused with programs written in accordance with teachings of theinvention, or it may be more convenient to construct a specializedapparatus or system to perform the required methods and techniques.

The systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented as acomputer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied inan information carrier, e.g., in a machine readable storage device or ina propagated signal, for execution by, or to control the operation of,data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer,or multiple computers. A computer program can be written in any form ofprogramming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, andit can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or asa module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in acomputing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executedon one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributedacross multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

The foregoing description is intended to illustrate but not to limit thescope of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appendedclaims. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

1.-20. (canceled)
 21. A method comprising: determining, within acomputer framework comprising one or more processors, that a requestreceived from a developer of a first in-development component of thecomputer framework for interaction with a second in-developmentcomponent of the computer framework requires instantiation of an actualbusiness object of the second in-development component, the actualbusiness object not yet existing within the computer framework;generating, within the computer framework, a mockup business objectbased on metadata stored within a database in the computer framework,the metadata depicting a model of the actual business object; persistingthe mockup business object in a mockup storage of the computerframework; and instantiating the mockup business object from the mockupstorage at runtime of the first in-development component suchdevelopment of the first in-development component proceeds independentlyof and in parallel to development of the second in-develop componentwherein upon determining, based on the metadata, a change in a structureof the mockup business object, modifying the stored mockup businessobject based on the determined change to implement the change to thestructure of the stored mockup business object; and wherein the changeto the structure comprises deletion or addition of a node associatedwith the mockup business object.
 22. The method of claim 21, whereingenerating further comprises: implementing the mockup business object asan object of a data dictionary to provide database tables for one ormore nodes of the mockup business object.
 23. The method of claim 21,wherein generating further comprises: determining that the mockupbusiness object does not already exist in the mockup storage.
 24. Asystem comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memorystoring instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor,cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:determining, within a computer framework implemented on the at least oneprocessor, that a request received from a developer of a firstin-development component of the computer framework for interaction witha second in-development component of the computer framework requiresinstantiation of an actual business object of the second in-developmentcomponent, the actual business object not yet existing within thecomputer framework; generating, within the computer framework, a mockupbusiness object based on metadata stored within a database in thecomputer framework, the metadata depicting a model of the actualbusiness object; persisting the mockup business object in a mockupstorage of the computer framework; and instantiating the mockup businessobject from the mockup storage at runtime of the first in-developmentcomponent such development of the first in-development componentproceeds independently of and in parallel to development of the secondin-development component; wherein upon determining, based on themetadata, a change in a structure of the mockup business object,modifying the stored mockup business object based on the determinedchange to implement the change to the structure of the stored mockupbusiness object; and wherein the change to the structure comprisesdeletion or addition of a node associated with the mockup businessobject.
 25. The system of claim 24, wherein the operations furthercomprise: implementing the mockup business object as an object of a datadictionary to provide database tables for one or more nodes of themockup business object.
 26. The system of claim 24, wherein generatingfurther comprises: determining that the mockup business object does notalready exist in the mockup storage.
 27. A machine readable storagedevice containing instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to perform operationscomprising: determining, within a computer framework comprising one ormore processors, that a request received from a developer of a firstin-development component of the computer framework for interaction witha second in-development component of the computer framework requiresinstantiation of an actual business object of the second in-developmentcomponent, the actual business object not yet existing within thecomputer framework; generating, within the computer framework a mockupbusiness object based on metadata stored within a database in thecomputer framework, the metadata depicting a model of the actualbusiness object; persisting the mockup business object in a mockupstorage of the computer framework; and instantiating the mockup businessobject from the mockup storage at runtime of the first in-developmentcomponent such development of the first in-development componentproceeds independently of and in parallel to development of the secondin-development component; wherein upon determining, based on themetadata, a change in a structure of the mockup business object,modifying the stored mockup business object based on the determinedchange to implement the change to the structure of the stored mockupbusiness object; and wherein the change to the structure comprisesdeletion or addition of a node associated with the mockup businessobject.
 28. The machine readable storage device of claim 27, wherein theoperations further comprise: implementing the mockup business object asan object of a data dictionary to provide database tables for one ormore nodes of the mockup business object.
 29. A system comprising:computer implemented means for determining, within a computer frameworkcomprising one or more processors, that a request received from adeveloper of a first in-development component of the computer frameworkfor interaction with a second in-development component of the computerframework requires instantiation of an actual business object of thesecond in-development component, the actual business object not yetexisting within the computer framework; computer implemented means forgenerating, within the computer framework, a mockup business objectbased on metadata stored within a database in the computer framework,the metadata depicting a model of the actual business object; computerimplemented means for persisting the mockup business object in a mockupstorage of the computer framework; computer implemented means forinstantiating the mockup business object from the mockup storage atruntime of the first in-development component such development of thefirst in-development component proceeds independently of and in parallelto development of the second in-development component; and computerimplemented means for modifying the stored mockup business object suchthat upon determining, based on the metadata, a change in a structure ofthe mockup business object, the stored mockup business object ismodified based on the determined change to implement the change to thestructure of the stored mockup business object; and wherein the changeto the structure comprises deletion or addition of a node associatedwith the mockup business object.
 30. A method comprising: determining,within a computer framework comprising one or more processors, that arequest received from a developer of a first in-development component ofthe computer framework for interaction with a second in-developmentcomponent of the computer framework requires instantiation of an actualbusiness object of the second in-development component, the actualbusiness object not yet existing within the computer framework;generating, within the computer framework, a mockup business objectbased on metadata stored within a database in the computer framework,the metadata depicting a model of the actual business object; persistingthe mockup business object in a mockup storage of the computerframework; and instantiating the mockup business object from the mockupstorage at runtime of the first in-development component suchdevelopment of the first in-development component proceeds independentlyof and in parallel to development of the second in-develop component;wherein upon determining, based on the metadata, a change in a structureof the mockup business object, modifying the stored mockup businessobject based on the determined change to implement the change to thestructure of the stored mockup business object; and wherein the changeto the structure comprises deletion or addition of a field associatedwith the mockup business object.
 31. The method of claim 30, whereingenerating further comprises: implementing the mockup business object asan object of a data dictionary to provide database tables for one ormore nodes of the mockup business object.
 32. The method of claim 30,wherein generating further comprises: determining that the mockupbusiness object does not already exist in the mockup storage.
 33. Asystem comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memorystoring instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor,cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:determining, within a computer framework implemented on the at least oneprocessor, that a request received from a developer of a firstin-development component of the computer framework for interaction witha second in-development component of the computer framework requiresinstantiation of an actual business object of the second in-developmentcomponent, the actual business object not yet existing within thecomputer framework; generating, within the computer framework, a mockupbusiness object based on metadata stored within a database in thecomputer framework, the metadata depicting a model of the actualbusiness object; persisting the mockup business object in a mockupstorage of the computer framework; and instantiating the mockup businessobject from the mockup storage at runtime of the first in-developmentcomponent such development of the first in-development componentproceeds independently of and in parallel to development of the secondin-development component; wherein upon determining, based on themetadata, a change in a structure of the mockup business object,modifying the stored mockup business object based on the determinedchange to implement the change to the structure of the stored mockupbusiness object; and wherein the change to the structure comprisesdeletion or addition of a field associated with the mockup businessobject.
 34. The system of claim 33, wherein the operations furthercomprise: implementing the mockup business object as an object of a datadictionary to provide database tables for one or more nodes of themockup business object.
 35. The system of claim 33, wherein generatingfurther comprises: determining that the mockup business object does notalready exist in the mockup storage.
 36. A machine readable storagedevice containing instructions that, when executed by at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to perform operationscomprising: determining, within a computer framework comprising one ormore processors, that a request received from a developer of a firstin-development component of the computer framework for interaction witha second in-development component of the computer framework requiresinstantiation of an actual business object of the second in-developmentcomponent, the actual business object not yet existing within thecomputer framework; generating, within the computer framework a mockupbusiness object based on metadata stored within a database in thecomputer framework, the metadata depicting a model of the actualbusiness object; persisting the mockup business object in a mockupstorage of the computer framework; and instantiating the mockup businessobject from the mockup storage at runtime of the first in-developmentcomponent such development of the first in-development componentproceeds independently of and in parallel to development of the secondin-development component; wherein upon determining, based on themetadata, a change in a structure of the mockup business object,modifying the stored mockup business object based on the determinedchange to implement the change to the structure of the stored mockupbusiness object; and wherein the change to the structure comprisesdeletion or addition of a field associated with the mockup businessobject.
 37. The machine readable storage device of claim 36, wherein theoperations further comprise: implementing the mockup business object asan object of a data dictionary to provide database tables for one ormore nodes of the mockup business object.
 38. A system comprising:computer implemented means for determining, within a computer frameworkcomprising one or more processors, that a request received from adeveloper of a first in-development component of the computer frameworkfor interaction with a second in-development component of the computerframework requires instantiation of an actual business object of thesecond in-development component, the actual business object not yetexisting within the computer framework; computer implemented means forgenerating, within the computer framework, a mockup business objectbased on metadata stored within a database in the computer framework,the metadata depicting a model of the actual business object; computerimplemented means for persisting the mockup business object in a mockupstorage of the computer framework; computer implemented means forinstantiating the mockup business object from the mockup storage atruntime of the first in-development component such development of thefirst in-development component proceeds independently of and in parallelto development of the second in-development component; and computerimplemented means for modifying the stored mockup business object suchthat upon determining, based on the metadata, a change in a structure ofthe mockup business object, the stored mockup business object ismodified based on the determined change to implement the change to thestructure of the stored mockup business object; and wherein the changeto the structure comprises deletion or addition of a field associatedwith the mockup business object.